


Wishbone

by Beepun



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Scopophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26165905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beepun/pseuds/Beepun
Summary: Sasha James stares into the mirror, looking shiny and new in her peach turtle neck and cream trousers. It’s academic but fun. It’s serious but approachable. Her hair is tied up into a neat ponytail that cascades over her shoulder. Even her glasses shine with...dare she think it - shine with opportunity.Elias Bouchard had emailed her a week ago about a meeting to discuss a promotion.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood & Sasha James, Sasha James & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist & Tim Stoker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	Wishbone

**Author's Note:**

> For TMAHCweek 
> 
> Prompt: Hiding Pain/Injury and Childhood and Calm 
> 
> Sasha James deserves the world and I! Love! Her! A! Whole! Lot! (No beta we go kayaking with tim)

Sasha James stares into the mirror, looking shiny and new in her peach turtle neck and cream trousers. It’s academic but fun. It’s serious but approachable. Her hair is tied up into a neat ponytail that cascades over her shoulder. Even her glasses shine with...dare she think it - shine with opportunity. 

Today is the day. 

Elias Bouchard had emailed her a week ago about a meeting to discuss a promotion. Exactly a week ago the research department head, Dylan, had retired after a far too long stay at the top. Sasha had worked for the Institute for three years and before that, she’d been an ambitious intern running around making sure grants were well researched and briefs were proofread about a thousand times. She’d dedicated so much of her academic career to the institute, lead groundbreaking changes to how the research department was run (with Dylan’s approval).

Things were better, Sasha made them better. She had the background, she had the know-how. Academia was her lifeblood, it ran through her family. Teacher aunts, a principal grandfather, professor grandmother. Her parents had been published in prestigious scientific journals. Her siblings worked in universities too or were working towards their masters. 

She was proud of them, but finally, she’d have something to show for all her hard work. Head of Research, Sasha James, had a great sound to it. 

> _ Timothy Stoker (Co(ol)-worker): Good luck today future boss! You won’t need it, but it never hurts to have a little extra ;)  _
> 
> _ Jonathan Sims (Super Co-Worker): Thank god Elias is finally putting someone sensible in charge of the department. Can I have your desk, you won’t need it anymore and the chair is far better than this stool I’ve been stuck with.  _
> 
> _ Sasha James (Co-Wonder): Thanks, guys! And sure Jon you can have the desk but I am taking the lamp with me.  _
> 
> _ Jonathan Sims (Super Co-Worker): Ah, damn :/  _

Sasha smiles as she reads the exchange on her way to work. The tube is busy with the morning commute, but it’s just part of her day now. She almost looks forward to it, the absolute rush as people run about trying to start their day. Knowing that she’s part of it, all the noise and movement and energy. 

Sasha steps off the tube ten minutes later and feels something hook around her ankle, sending her overstepping onto the platform. Her foot lands wrong, a shock of pain traveling from her toes to her shin as she hisses in pain. Behind her, a boy curses. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” He says, and she turns to find a brat staring up at her with wide eyes. He’s reaching for his bag that he’d left sprawled near the entrance and Sasha wants to give him a piece of her mind if only to give the pain somewhere to go. 

Instead, she forces a smile on her face and swallows down the bitter taste of anger that can only come from a surprise injury. 

“Sure thing, just be more careful next time, okay?” She says, taking a page of Tim’s book in her pained panic, she finds herself doing finger guns with one hand before turning away.

The institute is only an eight-minute walk from this stop. She can power through it. 

The first step almost makes her hiss from the pain. It feels like something’s twisted, throbbing, and aching.  _ It’s fine _ , she tells herself, looking down at her wrist for the time. She’s got her meeting with Elias an hour after the Institute opens and then after she gets her promotion, she can take a look at her ankle.  _ Thrive on the adrenaline, for now _ ,  _ steal some pain killers from Jon later _ .

So she begins. A quick power walk that turns into a limp that turns into a funny little hop as she gets closer to the Institute and the adrenaline begins to wear off. She can’t help but grimace with every step she takes, a rising sense of nausea as the pain begins to thrum in full. She wants to sit down and look at the damage, but all she can do is keep her eyes on the Institute once it comes into view. 

She tries to walk, putting weight on her foot and instantly whimpering. 

_ Get it together, Sasha _ , she warns herself. In all the time at the institute, there’s only been one woman as Head of anything, and she’s certain that Gertrude Robinson has survived worse than a little twisted ankle. 

Sasha puts her foot down, takes a shuddering breath, and begins to walk. Smooth steps, back straight, tall, and proud. She has earned her promotion and she is not going to go face Elias while whimpering. 

“Hey, Rosie!” Sasha calls as she enters the building, keeping a level voice. Rosie shoots her a smile and points to the phone she’s got up to her ear. Sasha nods in understanding and makes her way down the hall to where the research department is. 

Towards the back, Jonathan Sims look old enough to be her disgruntled older brother, even though she’s already seen his records. He’s three years younger than her and wears the bags under his eyes like shields. 

“Well, if it isn’t our future boss!” A youthful voice comes up from behind her. “Good morning boss!” 

“Oh stop that Tim, I haven’t gotten anywhere just yet.” She says, sitting at her desk beside Jon. He startles, as though he’s only just noticed they’ve arrived. 

“Good morning you two,” he says, all posh and proper. 

“Morning!” Tim and Sasha chime, with Sasha continuing to ask, “Have you got any pain killers Jon?” 

He doesn’t hesitate to look through his desk drawers, rifling about until he finds a...rather large bottle of pain killers. Jon gives it a shake and nothing rattles. 

“Damn, I knew I forgot something at home. Sorry Sash.” He frowns and gives her a look. “Are you alright? You look uh, off?” 

“Ouch! Not what you should say to a young lady!” Tim teases as Jon shoots him a glare. Despite herself, Sasha laughs. 

“Oh, you know! Woke up with a bit of a headache, wanted to nip it in the bud! No worries!” She lies. 

“Oh! Hold on, you know what’s good for headaches?” Tim holds up his coffee cup and presents it to Sasha with a flourish. “Coffee!”

“What? You don’t say…” Jon says, his lips turning down in disgust. Jon’s never been a fan of coffee, not unless it’s more milk and sugar. And even then, she remembers Jon saying it’s just worth the effort. 

“Sure is! Hot librarian dude told me so.” Tim smiles the flirty sort. The sort that prompts Sasha to ask questions and fall into gossip while Jon pretends he’s not interested and only wants to work. 

“Sure, I’ll take your word for it.” He deadpans. 

“Wha-Hey! He is hot!” Tim splutters. 

“I meant about the coffee, damn it, Tim!” 

“Jon! Language!” Sasha teases, but it effectively makes him flush and return his attention to his work. 

Tim sets his coffee down on Sasha’s desk and goes back to his own with a series of finger guns.  _ Pew pew pew _ . 

Her ankle hurts. 

Thankfully she’s got all the material she’s researching at her desk already, and after sending a couple of emails, she’s able to lose herself in her work until Rosie pokes her head into the room.

“Hello dear!” She says, “It’s time, are you excited?” 

“Absolutely!” Sasha closes the book she’d been using, taking a breath as she stands. Another sharp burst of pain almost makes her collapse, and all she can do is ball her hands into fists as he tries to push it away. 

She follows Rosie, ignoring the concerned glances from both Tim and Jon. If they’re the only ones who noticed something off, then she’ll have no problem tricking Elias. She just needs to make it through the meeting and then she’s done. Just one meeting. 

“Oh! It seems Mr. Bouchard stepped out for a moment.” Rosie says when they reach his office. She leads Sasha inside, offering a smile as she motions for her to sit in a rather uncomfortable looking office chair. “He’ll be right with you though, good luck!” 

Right, luck. As the door closed behind her, Sasha let herself limp towards the chair and fall into it with a heavy sigh.  _ Focus on your breathing _ . 

Elias Bouchard’s office was an effortless display of class and academia. It looked like what all the movies and tv shows wished their academic spooky rooms to be. But it was real, a sense of authority and power lingered in a way that made Sasha thrum with anticipation. One day, a room like this would be  _ hers _ . 

On the opposite side of the desk, looking down at her was a portrait of Jonah Magnus made up of what looked like a million little dots. It reminded her of that Georges Seurat painting. He had a stern knowing look. His pale skin and blond hair a jarring contrast to the vivid green of his eyes. They weren’t inviting, they weren’t friendly, but they seemed to say  _ I can see you _ even from two hundred years beyond the grave. Those eyes seemed to pull her in, and she can’t help leaning over the desk to get a better look at the painting. 

The pain must be messing with her mind because it doesn’t look like a million dots anymore. Sasha feels a chill creep up her spine as she stares at a million almost microscopic eyes staring back at her, their amalgamation into the greater whole of Jonah Magnus almost dizziness, just tiny bits of a whole all boring into her. 

Sasha wants to run, to hide. But that’s silly. She researches ghost stories for a living, and she knows that exhilaration can trick the mind, and the pain in her leg is playing tricks. She blinks, trying to form the thousands and thousands of eyes back into the form of Magnus, but all it does is create the illusion that they’re blinking with her. 

She feels sick. A primal fear that trickles from her spine to her fingertips. Prey caught in the gaze of a monster toying with its life for the sake of its amusement. 

Sasha blinks, gasping for breath as the spell seems to break. The clock on the wall tells her that Elias is seven minutes late.  _ What the hell _ . 

She waits. Her ankle feels numb, sore, and every attempt to move her toes sends sparks of agony cascading through her. Elias is late. Elias is late. She has work to do. Research to finish and Elias Bouchard is late. Time is of the essence, and he cannot be damned to be on time for a meeting with  _ her _ . Did Dylan have to wait? Did Gertrude? 

No, she probably made  _ him _ wait for her, crashed his meetings to let him know whatever she wanted. She’d the way they talked to one another, Gertrude acting as untouchable as she must be. Elias amused, but there was always some trepidation in his eyes when he dealt with her. 

Twenty-three minutes later, Sasha sits there feeling humiliated and scorned. Forgotten and afraid. The door opens just as she decides to go back to work. 

“Ah, Miss James. Glad you could make it.” Elias walks in, all pressed suite and unearned power. She wants to give him a piece of her mind. The absolute audacity of the man. Absolute  _ creep _ . 

“Of course,” She says instead, voice light as though there isn’t a twisted ankle demanding her attention. It’s fine. It’s  _ fine _ . “Good to see you, Sir.” 

“Right, let’s get this done with yes, I assume you have work you want to get back, hm?” Elias sits across from her, his vivid green eyes hard to meet after the moment with the painting. “Congratulations Miss James. I, as well as other executive members, have decided to give you a promotion. It includes a raise in pay and benefits, more sick days, and holidays.” Elias doesn’t look at her, holding an HR file that no doubt holds all the information of her time at the institute. “But most importantly, it means you’ll be transferred from research to Artifact Storage.” 

The room goes silent. 

“W-What?” She can’t help feeling lost. Like the world turned upside down and claimed to make sense. 

“If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to HR.” Elias continues as though he hasn’t heard her. 

“I thought- W-hat about the research department? Dylan quit!” He had mentioned, with a proud grin, to mention all her work when discussing the next steps with Elias. But now, Elias just looks bored. 

“Considerations for that position have been closed. Details regarding that particular promotion can be brought up to David, who I believe suits that role perfectly.” 

David. David the David who joined the institute six months ago? 

Sasha stares. Numb and aching. Numb, and furious. 

Her leg hurts. 

The eyes behind Elias painted in a thousand eyes, stare at her with mirth and delight. Like watching an ant struggle to carry a block of sugar, crushed by its hubris. 

“That will be all, thank you for your time. Now if you excuse me, I have a meeting to get to.” With that, Elias is out of the office and Sasha is consumed by silence. She stares at the file he left for her on the desk. Artifact Storage is good. Dangerous, but good. But it’s not Head of the Department good. 

David doesn’t even- 

She stands, biting her lip as her eyes swell. The meeting lasted two minutes tops. She’d spent longer waiting for this horrible, worthless news than she spent getting it. 

“Christ,” She groans, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. She stands, almost doubling over from the flare in her ankle and all she can do is bite the inside of her cheek to keep from whimpering.  _ Fuck Elias _ . 

She makes her way out, dizzy with pain and anger and hurt. What would Jon and Tim say? They were so, so genuinely excited for her. And her mother? And her grandmother? 

Head of Research, Sasha James. Gone in one two minute meeting. 

Sasha goes for the exit at the side of the building, refusing to see Rosie’s happy smile disappear at the sight of however Sasha must look. She just needs a minute to collect herself.  _ It’s fine _ . 

The pain feels sharp and jagged, every step a has her gasping for breath. It’s the pain, she tells herself. It’s the pain that has steadily gotten worse, that has crept from her ankle up to her leg. She wants to cry because it hurts. 

Sasha James does not cry over a broken heart. Especially not over a job of all things. 

She throws the door open, taking painful limping steps out. She sees a man talking in hushed tones into an old flip phone but Sasha almost wants him to face her. She wants to fight, she wants to blame someone else. This isn’t a failure on her part, she's good at what she does. She's great it, even. 

She plans to take the seven steps down and take a moment behind the large planter, but the one step she takes has her crying out, her hand reaching desperately for the handle. 

She breaks. 

It’s a sniffle. And then a sob. She sits alone on the top step as the world goes about, not a damn was given about her breaking heart. She’s done everything right. Worked tirelessly and thoroughly and smartly. She’s made more friends than enemies, she’s been personable even towards people she didn’t care for all that much. She was a leader, she was innovative. She pushed herself to withstand everything, even a twisted ankle if that’s what it took to get her further. 

Her grandparents and her parents fought and bled and worked themselves sick for the chance to give Sasha a chance to go further than any of them. She’d taken her chances and known in her heart it would be worth it. Now, now? She was empty-handed. There was nothing to show for all the work they’d done. 

She stood on the shoulder of giants and fallen short once again. 

“Oh god, a-are you alright?” The man on the phone looks over her, concerned and unsure. 

“I’m fine.” She all but shouts, reaching to rip her stupid heel off of her foot. The swelling was large, red, and it hurt. But that’s what she gets, isn’t it? 

“Holy shit! H-Hold one, stay right there!” He says, and then he is gone. Sasha rolls her eyes and lets her head slump against the hand railing. Alone and disappointed, she lets herself cry. All that waiting, that terror of being alone in that office, all the walking with her stupid leg messed up. Sasha had known, had known in her bones that today was supposed to be  _ good _ . 

And the world denied her the one thing she’d worked so hard for. All her effort had gone to nothing. 

The door opens, and the man returns. He’s tall, taller than Sasha by a head or so. There is thick round square balancing on the bridge of his nose giving him a retro sort of aesthetic. The last thing she wants is to be pitied and patronized. She glares at him. 

“I’ve brought you some ice? A- Uh, are you alright?” There’s a protective tone in his voice and Sasha almost laughs. How ridiculous. “Did-Did someone…”

“No, no, unless you consider Elias being a rude asshole to be anything new.” She says, not taking the ice. She wants to be alone, but the man just holds out the ice with concern evident on his face. 

“Oh, h-he can be like that huh? Pretty sure he implied I’d be better working as a janitor than in the library when he hired me. But like, that’s not even a bad thing? I-I mean how plain rude.” He says, voice calm and deliberate. Sasha stares, a bit shocked that Elias would be so openly demeaning. “I mean, yeah he’s a right prick, isn’t he? Worse things to be than a janitor.” 

“Y-Yeah? Like what?” She asks, and the man holds the ice further out to her. 

“Swellings going to get worse. I also have some pain killers, but I think you should get going to the A&E. That looks pretty, uh,  _ horrible _ .” 

“Okay, but what worse than being a janitor?” 

“You could be a creep like Elias.” He says and Sasha can’t help a surprised laugh, 

“Okay, that’s true. And like, way to devalue someone’s labor like that!” 

“Right? Gosh not all of us can afford to be born with a creepy skull in our offices, for goodness sake.” He says, taking a seat beside her as she holds the ice to her ankle. It feels horrible. “You’re going to want to have your leg elevated soon, propped up with a chair or a pillow.”

Sasha frowns at his words. 

He didn’t mean it like that, and clearly he thinks giving directions is what damped her mood as he starts spluttering apologies. 

“N-No, it’s not that.” She mumbles, sniffling, and ashamed. She looks at him, at his open honest face that says ‘ _ if you tell me a secret, I’ll carry it to the grave _ ’ and feels fresh tears overtake her. She bites down, breathing hard as a sob fights its way forward. “My-My parents and grandparents did everything-Everything! So that I and my siblings could go further than they’ve ever got! A-And- I’ve worked so hard!” 

She brings a hand to wipe at her eyes, is surprised when the man holds out a handkerchief for her. In the distant part of her mind, she wants to laugh at how funny it is to run into the one person in all the institute besides maybe Elias who would carry such a thing. She takes it and dabs at her eyes. 

“I’ve worked here for years! I-I even used to intern before that and I-I just love what I do! There’s no one more passionate about academia in this whole building than me. No one who-who wants to know half as much as I do and I know how that makes me sound b-but…”

“But you work really hard.” The man finished for her and all she can do is pout pathetically. But his voice is calm and his gaze is steady. 

“Tim and Jon and even Rosie thought I had the promotion….That’s why I waited. T-To treats my leg. I-I didn’t want to keep that promotion waiting but then Elias said I’m being transferred to Artifact Storage and now I don’t even get to work with my friends!”

She feels like sobbing again, and when the man brings a hand to pat her back she all but bursts into tears. The heartbreak and disappointment feel like they could bury her, choke her and leave her with nothing. 

“It’s not fair!” She all but cries, knowing she sounds childish and naive. The world doesn’t work like that, in favor of people like her. Instead of looking steadily patient or put off, he just nods as though urging her on. As though he understands the time and effort, the years of energy put into furthering herself. “I-We- I grew up surrounded by my grandmother’s books. I learned about sociology and anthropology instead of reading fantasy-Not that there’s anything wrong with that I quite enjoy it! I just-just didn’t discover that until later, you know? It felt like there was a world out there to discover and to-to study. And when my parents got published in the journals it felt like-like leaving an undeniable mark in this world. It’s such a rush! I-I got published too, you know? B-But that’s been done in our family so-so Head of Department of Research Sasha James would have been a first. Head of my own department, with the sole purpose to do research on the esoteric? God, could you imagine?” 

She feels silly, spilling her guts to a stranger. But he’s got kind eyes and she thinks if she has to, she could probably bully him to keep his silence. He nods though, looking properly disgruntled on her behalf. 

“I mean, it sounds like you know what you want right? And you’ve clearly got-got the skillset?”

“I do! I do! I-I’ve devoted so much of my time to this stupid job and for what? So that David can get promoted? He hardly got here!”

“Wait, David? As in had to be told not to use the institute as his personal delivery address David? As in had to be told how to borrow books from the library about four times David? That David?” 

The way his voice raises with shock delights her and she properly laughs at his confusion. 

“Yes! That David, can you believe it? Christ, I walked her on a twisted ankle to be told, Hey some jerk got the job you wanted but don’t’ worry, you get to work in  _ Artifact Storage _ !” Her voice breaks at the last second, and the man just pats her back sympathetically. “God, what’s even the point of being here if all I’m going to do is get smacked by glass ceilings?” 

“I- Aren’t there better places to be head of the research department than here?” He says and she turns to glare at him. He raises his hands as if to pacify her and continues “I mean, I applied here when after I heard its reputation. Sure it’s a good place for research, and for students. I’m pretty sure you can do better than Department Head of Research Sasha James at the  _ Magnus Institute _ .” 

Sasha can’t help admit he’s got a point.

“Besides, what if Elias decides that one Gertrude as Head Archivist is uh, already too progressive? I-I mean if you don’t like Artifact Storage and you’ve got all that you can from research so much so that you’re looking to move forward, then...then why not look for fresh opportunities? Sorry, you don't need some stranger telling you how to live your life. But you seem to have a really good head on your shoulders and you know what you want, which is way better than most people. You’re clearly way better prepared and more passionate about things than- No offense to him, but than David! 

“Okay oh my god!” She lets herself laugh, feeling just a bit better about being scorned. She’s proud of her work here, she likes studying the esoteric. But he does have a point. There is a larger world out there outside spooky stories that require the skills she has. Artifact Storage does have good perks to it, she can stay long enough until something new comes up. “Y-You’re right. I don’t what to get complacent either. That’s how you stuck in shitty dead-end jobs.” 

“Exactly!”

“Thank you.” She says, offering a small smile. He returns it with a bright smile of his own and she decides she likes him. 

“You should get your leg checked. Do you have anyone I can tell here? I’d offer to go with you to the A&E, but it’s better to go with someone you’re more comfortable with, honestly.” He’s got another good point. 

“I’m sorry I cried on you, you’re a very good listener.” 

“Nonsense, I think you’ve earned a good sit and cry after the day you’ve had.” 

She smiles at that and feels a little bold. He’s a good fellow. 

“Can you give me a piggyback ride to research? I’ve decided we’re friends now if you don’t mind.” He goes a spectacular shade of red and splutters before nodding. 

“Okay, okay! Sure. Better than you walking all about with your leg like that. Up we go.” 

And that’s how she makes it back to research, her hands resting on his round shoulders. Jon’s nowhere in sight, but Tim strands straight as bolt when they enter. 

“Sasha and Hot Library Guy! What happened?” 

“He’s got a name, Tim!” She chides as he starts spluttering again. Oh no, he’s  _ adorable _ . She and Tim would have so much fun teasing him. Then she turns her attention to him. “What is your name?”

“Oh! I’m Martin! N-Nice to meet you?”

“Nice to meet you too!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! It was fun writing for Sasha for the first time.   
> I'm at [beesabuzzin](http://beesabuzzin.tumblr.com/) on tumblr!


End file.
